Amazon may soon be adding ‘internet service provider’ to its long list of skills.

People familiar with the matter revealed the eCommerce giant is considering this service, first for its European customers.

This new venture would let Amazon bundle internet access with its Prime video streaming, which would ultimately increase its membership base.

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People familiar with the matter revealed the eCommerce giant is considering this service for its European customers. This new venture would let Amazon bundle internet access with its Prime video streaming, which would ultimately increase its membership base

AMAZON AND THE INTERNET

A person briefed on the discussion told The Information that Amazon is considering offering internet access to its European customers.

This would let the firm bundle internet access with its Prime video streaming, which would ultimately increase its membership base.

The move would also make 'it more competitive with cable operators which already offer a similar broadband-video package,' the person said.

It appears that Amazon is working on a plan for world domination, so it may not be a surprise that the firm is looking at other ways to extend its reach.

By offering its own internet, the firm could take on both cable operators and internet providers, report Amir Efrati and Martin Peers with The Information

'Amazon.com is considering offering internet service directly to consumers in Europe, said a person briefed on the discussion,' they wrote.

'That would allow Amazon to bundle internet access with its Prime streaming video offering, the person said, making it more competitive with cable operators which already offer a similar broadband-video package.'

While it is unclear exactly what Amazon's plans are, the eCommerce giant has already revealed it is taking on Apple and Spotify in the streaming music market.

Amazon Music Unlimited will cost $8 per month, or $80 a year, for members of Amazon's $99-a-year Prime loyalty program.

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Non-Prime members will pay $10 a month, the same monthly fee charged by Spotify and Apple Music, while owners of Amazon's Echo smart speaker will be able to get the unlimited music service on one device for $4 per month.

'Amazon Music Unlimited brings real value to the millions of people who are already Prime members,' said Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos.

While it is unclear whether Amazon has plans to compete in this sector, the eCommerce giant has revealed it is taking on Apple and Spotify in the streaming music market. Amazon Music Unlimited will cost $8 per month, or $80 a year, for members of the Prime loyalty program

'And if you want a sense of the future of voice-controlled music, go ahead and ask Alexa (Amazon's digital personal assistant) for a free Music Unlimited trial, and play around on your Echo,' Bezos said.

AMAZON TAKES ON SPOTIFY

It will cost $8 per month, or $80 a year, for members of Amazon's $99-a-year Prime loyalty program.

Non-Prime members will pay $10 a month, the same monthly fee charged by Spotify and Apple Music.

Owners of Amazon's Echo smart speaker, meanwhile, will be able to get the unlimited music service on one device for $4 per month.

'If you don't know the name of a song but know a few lyrics, if you want to hear songs from a specific decade, or even if you're looking for music to match your mood, just ask.'

The steaming service is one more perk — like two-day free shipping and Amazon Video — that the Seattle-based company hopes will attract people to its Prime program and thus encourage them to spend more on its flagship site.

Amazon already offers Amazon Prime Music for free to Prime members, but that includes about two million songs, while the new service boasts a catalog of 'tens of millions' of songs.

'Think of this as two different levels: Prime is now the introductory service and Unlimited is the full service,' said Steve Boom, Amazon's vice president of digital music.

The service's launch comes as the way people listen to music is changing.

According to Nielsen , during the first half of 2016, digital purchasing of single tracks was down 24 percent and digital albums were down 18 percent, while streaming was up 59 percent, compared with the same period a year ago.

THE STREAMING MUSIC WARS

Amazon's new US offering comes a month after Sweden's Spotify said it had passed 40 million paying subscribers, consolidating its position as world leader in the streaming sector.

Spotify stands well clear of its nearest rival Apple Music, which had some 15 million paying subscribers in June, but it has yet to post an annual profit, spending most of its revenue on compensating artists and rights-holders.

Apple's Eddy Cue unveiled a major overhaul of Apple Music at the firm's WWDC in San Francisco earlier this year, which came after repeated complaints from customers over the streaming service

Streaming music services are also offered by Google, Pandora and a number of other groups.

Last month Norwegian media said the Tidal streaming service, owned by rap megastar Jay-Z, had posted heavy losses and was having problems making payments on time.

HOW THE SERVICES COMPARE

Service

Cost

Apple Music

$9.99 a month or $14.99 for a family plan (up to six family members) - both with a three-month free trial (£9.99 and £14.99 in UK)

Tidal

$9.95-a-month for standard sound quality and $19.99-a-month for 'lossless high fidelity sound quality' (£9.99 and £19.99 in the UK)

Spotify

Free level with adverts, Premium $9.99-a-month service (£9.99 in the UK)

Beats Music

$9.99-a-month or $99 per year

Pandora

$4.99-a-month for Pandora's ad-free internet radio service

Deezer

Free with adverts, $9.99-a-month for Premium+ (£9.99 in the UK)

Rdio

Free with adverts, Rdio Unlimited costs $9.99 (£9.99 in the UK) and US users can also get Rdio Select for $3.99 a month with limited downloads

Tidal had a major boost earlier in the year when Beyonce - who is married to Jay-Z - released her album 'Lemonade' exclusively on the service.

'The recorded music industry has been fumbling for a digital business model that really works, and I think streaming has come into its own,' said eMarketer analyst Paul Verna.

In fact, streaming of audio has eclipsed video streaming, according to Nielsen. Audio's share of streaming is 54 percent as of June 30, compared with 44 percent a year earlier.

But it still faces the music industry's problem of low margins, Verna said.

'There is definitely room to grow the pie simply because more and more music consumers are choosing this way of accessing their music,' he said.

WHAT IS AMAZON'S ECHO?

The Amazon Echo and smaller Echo Dot speakers will be available in black or white. The Echo will cost £149.99 (€179.99) and will also be available for Prime customers at a reduced rate of £99 (€129.99) for a limited time.

Amazon Echo is a voice-controlled smart speaker that works alongside a smartphone app.

Using a virtual assistant called Alexa, the speaker can respond to voice commands from the user, such as setting an alarm or ordering a cab.

Echo also works with services like Spotify as a 360-degree wireless speaker.

'But the potential rewards are not huge and infinite, they're sort of modest and there are already quite a few players in the space.'

Most streaming services now offer similar catalogues of music and pricing is about the same. So services have differentiated by user interface, Verna said.

One way Amazon is hoping to stand out is with its Alexa voice control, via the Echo or other Alexa-enabled devices.

Users can ask the Echo to play a certain song or playlist, but can also search for music just by saying they want to hear the 'new' song by any artist, a genre of music from a certain decade, or by saying the lyrics of a song if they can't remember the name.

The service is available starting Wednesday in the U.S. and in the U.K., Germany and Austria this year.